Divergence
by Alfawolf15
Summary: DISCONTINUED. See Author's note.
1. Chapter 1

**A/U: Alfa here. GAH. I uploaded the wrong document last time...here's the real one. Sorry. x.x **

**This is just a little idea I had...out of many...anyways. xD**

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I, Alfawolf, do not own Naruto, soup, or sushi. Sadly.**  
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**Summary:** The four genin squads of Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma have been acting mysterious...however, they're here to intervene in Konoha's latest misfortunes and set things right. The mission? To eradicate the Fourth Great Shinobi War before it starts.

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><p>CHAPTER ONE: Time of Genesis<p>

Hatake Kakashi had a problem: his genin team. Ever since they'd returned from their C-ranked-turned-A-ranked mission to Wave Country a week ago, any teamwork they'd displayed had pretty much gone down the drain. Naruto and Sasuke had all but stopped talking to each other, taking great pains to avoid even standing next to their teammate. Sakura, of course, had been no help whatsoever, always defending her crush and whaling on Naruto at every given chance. The masked jounin ran a hand through his shock of gravity-defying silver hair and sighed. '_Oh well. A few teamwork exercises should do the trick_,' he decided optimistically, forming the hand seal for a shunshin.

A swirl of leaves later left Kakashi perched atop the red bridge that served as a rendezvous point for Team 7. Raising one hand in a lazy wave, he glanced up briefly from his deluxe edition of Icha Icha Paradise to greet his team and did a double take. The genin were all present-no surprise there considering Kakashi was three hours late-and were leaning on the railing next to each other, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Talking. Quietly. Next to each other. Not squealing, fighting, or otherwise making a lot of noise. Talking. The former ANBU immediately felt his guard go up several notches.

Kakashi closed his gaping mouth...not that anyone would notice under his mask...and more or less arranged his facial features back into his trademark bored expression. "Yo."

Naruto waved back cheerfully. "Ohaiyo, Kakashi-sensei!" he chirped.

"Hn. Kakashi." Sasuke gave him a small smirk.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura grinned at him.

The jounin nearly fell off the bridge. '_What the hell? No complaints about being late? And is Sasuke actually _smiling_ at me? Who are you and what have you done with my genin?' _Kakashi stared at the trio. These were definitely not the cute little twelve-year-olds who'd been squabbling the day before.

"So, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called up to the silver-haired jounin. "Do you have a mission for us? Are you going to train us? Teach me a super-awesome-kick-ass-jutsu, dattebayo!"

Sakura and Sasuke sweatdropped.

"You already know a ton of powerful jutsu, dobe," Sasuke deadpanned quietly.

"Shut up, teme!" hissed the blonde. "Kaka-sensei doesn't _know_ that, remember?"

"How could we forget?" muttered Sakura. "Rav-Sasuke just meant you could, you know, ask to train in Taijutsu or something."

"I never really did ask to train in Taijustsu," insisted their teammate. "Besides, I can't actually show him what I can do, so what does it matter?"

"Point taken," conceded the 'last' Uchiha, fixing his onyx gaze back on their sensei, who was staring at the trio with narrowed eyes, though Sasuke doubted he could hear them.

"So..?" prodded Sakura, after the silence had gone on too long.

Kakashi gave them an eye-smile. "Nope!"

The genin stared.

"We'll have a free day today. Meet me back here tomorrow, same time!" He shunshined out of sight amidst a swirl of leaves.

"Yes! Day off! Let's get wasted!" cheered Naruto.

Sakura smacked her teammate on the head. "Baka! We're twelve!" she admonished.

Sasuke smirked. "Dobe. We need to sort out our living arrangements."

"Teme! Let's walk through town first," argued Naruto. "We need to report, anyways."

"I'll go with, until I see Deer," offered Sakura. "We should get our squads together."

"Not in public, Sakura!" hissed Naruto. "C'mon, let's go. I can't wait to see the village again!" He trotted off towards the market as his friends deadpanned.

"'I can't wait to see the village again', huh?" quipped Sakura with a twitching brow.

"Hn. So much for not in public," muttered Sasuke, sauntering after the blonde.

"Baka!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, running after her teammates.

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><p>Hyuuga Neji narrowed his pale eyes at the wave of incoming projectiles headed his way. <em>Juuken! <em>He thrust his chakra outwards, spinning to create an impenetrable defense. A blur headed his way, almost to fast to see, and he ducked under Rock Lee's attack. Fast as lightning, he closed several points on his opponent's arm before being forced to Kamawari out of the range of several kunai and a fuuma shuriken. He nodded to his teammates. "We're done," he monotoned.

"YOSH! What an incredibly YOUTHFUL display!" cried Mighto Gai, crying manly tears of joy against a sunset beach backdrop. The green-clan ninja paused as none of his students, not even his protege joined in. He tried again. "LEE my most YOUTHFUL student! What an AMAZINGLY YOUTHFUL assault that was!"

He was met by several blank stares.

Neji coughed something that sounded surprisingly like "Cough-Lee!cough!" But it couldn't be, because Neji never, ever, acknowledged his fellow teammate, let alone said his name.

Lee stared at Neji, puzzled. _What am I supposed to do?_

Tenten made a few discreet signs to cast a genjutsu and make their sensei see what he expected; Rock Lee hugging him and crying his name before turning on her teammate. "Look, Lee, even if you outgrew that little quirk of acting and dressing like Gai-sensei, you still have to go along with it," she reminded.

"Oh...right...Yosh, Tenten! Most Youthful and Precious Blossom of our team! If I fail to fill my role again, I will run around the village walls 1000 ti-"

"Enough, Lee," droned Neji. "Tenten, dispel the genjutsu. Lee, act like you're doing what the illusion is doing.

Lee nodded and saluted, bounding up to Gai and hugging him and crying like a mini-me. "GAI-SENSEI!"

Tenten released the illusion, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the self-proclaimed Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha continued with his antics.

"YOSH! My most YOUTHFUL team! We have no missions today so we will have a most YOUTHFUL day off!" he proclaimed.

"YOSH!" echoed Lee. "NEJI, I will have a most YOUTHFUL race with you to see the village once again! And I will be victorious or I will do seven hundred pushups!" he declared, oblivious to Tenten's sudden intake of breath at his slip of tongue.

Neji stared impassively at him. "Hn." He shunshined away.

Lee blinked, then sprinted after him, hollering about the 'power of youth'.

Tenten smiled awkwardly, then ran after them at a considerably slower pace.

Mighto Gai blinked. Since when did Neji know Shunshin?

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><p>It was a lazy day for Team 10. Sarutobi Asuma surveyed his three students as he took a drag from his always-present cigarette. Shikamaru was lying flat on his back, watching the clouds. Ino was alternately combing her hair and switching her mind into passing birds. Chouji was sitting next to Shikamaru, munching on a bag of chips. The jounin sighed and scratched the back of his head. They'd just finished a D-rank with remarkable motivation, and so were several hours early. Shikamaru, for once, had done everything by binding the devil-cat Tora in his shadows until he handed her off to the Fire Daimyo's wife...and his teammates hadn't at all seemed surprised.<p>

Asuma didn't dismiss it as a fluke. Something was up.

"Oi, Shikamaru. Taijutsu spar with Ino," he ordered lazily.

The dark-haired boy didn't glance over, preferring to mutter "Troublesome," under his breath.

Ino, however jumped up immediately. "C'mon, Shika-kun!" she challenged. "I'll beat your lazy ass into the ground!"

The dark-haired boy just sighed. "Do I have to?" he muttered, hauling himself laboriously to his feet.

"The sooner you get this over with, the sooner you can leave," muttered the chain smoking jounin. "And Shikamaru..." he trailed off, thinking of a suitable incentive for the lazy Nara "...if you don't try hard enough, you get to pay the bill next time we have barbecue," he threatened.

Said genin blanched and faltered a bit as he walked out into the clearing. "Troublesome jounin," he groused, giving Asuma a pained look. He slouched to the middle of the sparring area and sank into a beginning Taijutsu stance.

Asuma noted that Shikamaru had first assumed an unfamiliar, more advanced stance, seemingly by habit, before switching to a more common stance used by Academy students and rookie genin. Likewise, Ino had started out with what the bearded jounin noted as a more graceful form of Taijutsu, before copying Shikamaru with the more clumsy Academy version. "Haijame!" he called, narrowing his eyes..

Predictably, Ino charged in right away, attempting to land a straightforward punch on her teammate. Shikamaru ducked under her arm and jabbed her in the stomach. The platinum blond dropped to a crouch and swept her legs out to unbalance her opponent, but Shikamaru jumped backwards, out of range. Again, the Yamanaka girl sprinted at her evasive opponent, right arm cocked to deliver what was obviously a right hook. However, as she reached her target, she jabbed him with her left fist, doubling him over before knocking him flat with her right.

"Good work, Ino. Shikamaru, you weren't trying." Asuma frowned at the lazy genin, who hadn't bothered to move and instead stared up at the clouds above his teammate. The Hokage's son sighed and ran his hand through his dark hair yet again. "Alright, we're done for today. Shikamaru, you're paying for barbecue."

Said genin groaned but didn't move.

"Same time, same place," reminded the jounin, before shunshin'ing away in a swirl of leaves to meet his friend-not girlfriend, mind you-Kurenai, who'd probably given her genin team the rest of the day off.

"Your squad's probably waiting in town," Chouji spoke up for the first time. "Neji's too."

"All twelve of us are meeting in front of that ramen stand Naruto insisted on," Ino reminded. "Not just the ANBU squads, so move that lazy ass, Shika!"

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><p>At Team 8's training grounds, genjutsu specialist Yuuhi Kurenai watched with narrowed eyes as the only girl of the squad pointed out her hiding spot to the heir of the Aburame Clan. Kurenai darted to one side, loosing off a round of shuuriken that caused Shino to dodge, and the one that did connect caused the boy's form to dissolve into insects-a kikaichu buushin. The red-eyed jounin whirled to block a kunai strike from Izunuka Kiba, dodging under his partner Akamaru's lunge. A soft but forceful blow from behind closed seceral of her tenketsu, causing Kurenai to leap away from Hinata's Gentle Fist-right into a swarm of kikaichu. Quickly, she shunshined away and held up her hand.<p>

"We're done," she announced. "Very good, especially you, Hinata," she complimented.

The Hyuuga heir smiled widely. "Thank-" the girl stopped suddenly, then quickly ducked her head and poked the tips of her fingers together coyly. "-umm...t-t-thanks K-kure-enai S-sensei," she stuttered, staring at the ground.

Kurenai stared at the pale-eyed girl. _Does she have a split personality? _"Um...okay. Time for a mission. I'll meet you in front of the Hokage's office."

Fifteen minutes later, Team Kurenai had their mission-search and rescue. Since Team 8 was specifically formed to be a tracking and retrieval team, this was definitely up their alley. The downside? The 'subject' they were to retrieve wasn't a person.

It was a cat. Tora. Otherwise known as the bane of all genin, the devil-cat.

The cat Team 10 had just captured...the cat that had just escaped its owner.

Again.

And to make matters worse, Kiba's partner, Akamaru, couldn't stand cats, and by proxy, neither could he.

"Damn demon-cat!" snarled Kiba as he and his nin-dog overshot said pet and crashed into a thorny bush. The Izunuka struggled free of the prickly tendrils and hauled Akamaru out as well. "Let's go, Akamaru!" he hollered, and said canine barked enthusiastically in agreement.

_"_You are supposed to be silent during a retrieval mission," stated Shino into the com-link. "Why? Because we do not want our prey to be alerted. Why? It would-"

"Yeah, yeah," snarled Kiba. "Shut it, bug boy. Akamaru and I will find the damn cat! Then we'll see who's talking!" he boasted.

"A-ano, Kiba-kun," Hinata murmured. "Shino didn't mean to insult you."

"Whatever," huffed the boy.

Hinata paused and gathered her chakra. _"Byakugan!" _Veins popped, surrounding the Hyuuga's eyes. "T-the target i-is f-five meters f-from K-kiba-kun. Kiba-kun, m-move in to c-capture the t-target," she ordered in a soft tone.

"Hell yeah!" crowed Kiba, springing from the undergrowth to practically land on Tora. "Gotcha, you stupid cat! Hey-ow!" he yelped, as the Daimyo's wife's cat dug its claws into his arm and clawed furiously. Said cat sprang out of Kiba's arms, who all but threw the cat away. The beribboned cat landed in Hinata's arms, who began stroking the cat. Immediately, the cat calmed and purred, rubbing its head against the girl, much to the ire of Kiba. Akamaru growled, and Hinata giggled and patted his head. The little nin-dog ducked away with an annoyed look.

"M-mission a-accomplished!" announced the Byukagun user proudly, marching back to the Hokage's Tower with the cat. Shino slipped from the shadows silently and followed her, and a cursing Kiba trailed the other two along with Akamaru.

Kurenai appeared in a shower of leaves, meeting her genin outside the Hokage Tower with a proud smile. "Good job," she said simply. "Since you've turned in your mission report, you can have the rest of the day. I have to be going somewhere, so...I'll meet you at the normal time on Training Grounds 32."

"Yes!" cheered Kiba, darting down the street.

"Kiba!" Hinata called sharply, then hesitated, eyes flicking guiltily to Kurenai. "Ah...ano sa, Kiba-kun, umm...we were going to meet the others at Ichiraku's," she reminded in a more mild tone, trotting off after the Izunuka heir.

Shino followed his two teammates, a contented buzzing surrounding him.

Their red-eyed sensei stared after the trio. _What? What's going on with them?_

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><p>The four teams that would become Konoha Twelve...after Sasuke returned to Konoha, of course... congregated at Ichiraku's. However, outside the little ramen stand, they split into four different groups...and not by genin squad. Neji, leaning against a tree, faced Team 7-Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. "Well?" he asked neutrally.<p>

"It seems everything is as it was," Sakura stated. "The Chuunin Exams should be approaching, and I have no reason to doubt that we will not be entered, sempai."

"What makes you think that, Rabbit?" the Hyuuga countered.

"It just makes sense, Ne-uh, sir," Naruto finished lamely.

"Nothing else has changed. As long as we keep this up, we should make it in, Falcon-san," Sasuke added.

Neji nodded absently. "Very well then." He focused on the three standing rather stiffly in front of him. "Rabbit, Fox, Raven. You are off duty until I contact you again."

Naruto sighed in relief. "Geez, Neji, it's so hard to talk to you so formally," he complained.

"It's protocol, dobe," Sasuke drawled.

"Teme! I know that!" snapped the blonde. "Er, Neji? You should go back to your genin team and pretend they dragged you here, ne? I mean, no offense, but you were really an uptight bastard who hated Hinata and had no appreciation for ramen," Naruto suggested bluntly.

"Damn. That was nice," muttered Sasuke sarcastically.

Neji just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Tenten's still briefing them," he pointed out. Sure enough, the weapons mistress was talking intently with Rock Lee, Yamanaka Ino, and Akamichi Chouji. His pale eyes flicked to where Shikamaru casually conversed with Team 8-Kiba, Hinata, and Shino.

"Alright, we're done," droned the lazy Nara.

"Naruto, go over to Shikamaru and remind him how I will be behaving towards Hinata-sama," Neji ordered.

Naruto scowled. "Why me? We're off duty!" he whined, stomping over.

"Looks like everyone's done," noted Sakura. "Let's go in! Team Seven will go first-we're regulars here."

"It's the only place that will serve the dobe anything decent," muttered Sasuke with a dark expression and disdain in his eyes. "Dobe!" he called Naruto. "Let's go in already. Aren't you hungry? You said you wanted ramen, didn't you?"

"What? Ramen?" Message delivered, the hyperactive Jinchuuriki bounded over eagerly, all but dragging his teammates into the ramen stand. The trio ducked into the stand.

"WHAA-KAKASHI-SENSEI?" yelped Naruto, as Sakura stifled a scream and Sasuke jumped.

The nine genin outside stiffened.

The silver-haired jounin leveled a kunai and a glare at the three-Teuchi and Ayame were nowhere in sight.

"So, what was that you were saying to 'Neji' over there?" the Hatake growled.

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><p><strong>AU: Ehehe, minor cliffie there...I'd like to apologize about what I posted yesterday. I put up the incomplete chapter instead of the finished version. Oops. Sorry about all the changing points of view. They won't happen that often, and I kinda viewed it as a necessary evil here. :3  
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**I'm not quite sure how often I will be able to update. A few days? A couple weeks? It all depends on my schedule...**

**Reviews, please? They help my writing and improve the quality...though you are by no means obligated to...unfortunately. Flames...no. Just no.**

**Alfa out~  
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	2. Chapter 2

**A/U: Alfa here. Sorry for the long wait...got caught up in...things...and I'm not one of those people who can churn out 10k chapters daily...x.x  
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**This chapter's kind of a filler, some answers and whatnot. Things won't really pick up until the next chapter, probably. ^.^ PLEASE read until the bottom, or at least skip to the bottom if this gets too boring. However, you /will/ miss a lot of the explanation behind this.  
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**Rated T. For later chapters...violence and such.  
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**Disclaimer: No. I do not own Naruto. Yeah...not obvious at all...  
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><p><em>"WHAA-KAKASHI-SENSEI?" yelped Naruto, as Sakura stifled a scream and Sasuke jumped.<em>

_The nine genin outside stiffened._

_The silver-haired jounin leveled a kunai and a glare at the three-Teuchi and Ayame were nowhere in sight._

_"So, what was that you were saying to 'Neji' over there?" the Hatake growled._

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><p>CHAPTER TWO: Time of Discovery<p>

_Earlier that day..._

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><p>Kakashi formed the hand seals for shunshin and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Unbeknown to the trio on the bridge, the last Hatake had merely zipped under the bridge. If these were truly not his genin, he'd find out by spying, right? Right. Because he was a ninja and that was what ninja did...<p>

"Let's get wasted!" yelled Naruto.

_Wasted?_ wondered Kakashi. _They drink? Is that why they were acting all cheerful? Because they got drunk?_

"Baka! We're twelve!"

The silver-haired jounin sweatdropped. _Okay, maybe not. Well...maybe it's some sort of mind control technique, like the Yamanakas'? Or a genjutsu like Uchiha Shisui's?_

"Dobe. We need to sort out our living arrangements," came Sasuke's voice.

_Okay. Definitely not from Konoha. Why the hell would the real Sasuke and Naruto even stay in the same _room _together, let alone share an apartment?_

"Teme!" barked Naruto. "Let's walk through town first! We need to report, anyways."

"I'll go with, until I see Deer," added 'Sakura'. "We should get our squads together."

_Enemy nin. Definitely enemy nin._ Kakashi tensed, ready to shunshin straight to the Hokage's tower.

"Not in public, Sakura!" hissed Naruto. "C'mon, let's go. I can't wait to see the village again!" One set of feet pattered off towards the marketplace.

_Wait...what?_ Kakashi paused, confused.

"'I can't wait to see the village again', huh?" came 'Sakura's' voice.

"Hn. So much for not in public." Came the final member of the trio in a dry voice. Another pair of feet, more catlike, stalked off.

"Baka!" The final member sprinted after the first two.

Kakashi was now thoroughly confused. Their behavior's practically screamed 'Team Seven', but they were too careless to be spies and too...different to be his cute little genin. The Hatake narrowed his eyes. He wouldn't let the Hokage know just yet...no, he'd do some snooping around of his own first.

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><p>The masked jounin wandered idly through the streets, eye seemingly glued to his small orange book. In reality, however, the former ANBU was stalking his cute little genin. Unsurprisingly, (or surprisingly, if they really <em>weren't<em> his students) the hyperactive blond had all but dragged his teammates along through the town. What really shocked Kakashi, though, was the fact that the trio was beelining for the Hokage's Tower. _They're going to jump straight into the fire? Literally?_ wondered the silver-haired shinobi.

Naruto busted straight through the front door, darting up the stairs. His two teammates followed, though admittedly at a more sedate pace. Kakashi stepped up his speed, settling a concealing jutsu around him once he nodded at and passed the Hokage's ANBU guards. They knew him well enough now, him having been an ANBU captain, not to question what he did.

"Oi! Jiji!" the Hatake heard. Quickly, the jounin shunshined into the room behind the two genin, ready to intercede if necessary.

Naruto flung himself and tacklehugged the aged Hokage, who fell back in surprise.

"Hey, old man! Kakashi-sensei gave us the day off!" the boy babbled excitedly.

Kakashi winced as the Hokage frowned.

"Why did he do that?" the village leader asked Naruto.

Naruto shrugged dismissively, ignoring his rather horror-stricken teammates in the corner near the door. "I dunno. Probably went to read his porn or something," he suggested callously.

Kakashi flinched again as a dark look crossed the Hokage's face-and was that a touch of pervertedness?- as the man scowled.

"Ehehe...anyways, I'm glad to see you, Jiji, 'ttebayo!" rambled the blond. "Can I try on your hat? Pleease?"

The aged leader sighed patiently. "No, Nauto-kun," he said sternly. "You can't wear this unless you are Hokage."

"Aww, Jiji! I'm gonna be Hokage someday anyways, so a few years early won't hurt, dattebayo!"

"No, Naruto," the Sandaime repeated absently. "Run along now. Get some lunch or something.

"But-" Naruto's whining was cut off as his pink-haired teammate yanked him back, dragging him out the door by the arm.

"G-gomen! Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama!" she stammered. "Sorry for bothering you!"

Sasuke had already disappeared, not wanting to face an annoyed Hokage.

Likewise, Kakashi quickly shunshined after his students, stalking-er, following- them into the sunlight.

"NARUTO-NO-BAKA!" A thump. "What were you thinking?" _Sakura, obviously_, thought the masked jounin in the shadows nearby.

"Dobe. You shouldn't talk so familiarly withe the Hokage-sama. Hn." _No prizes for guessing who_ that _was_...

"Teme!" the Kyuubi vessel snapped back. "Jiji's used to me calling me that!" he defended himself. "I remember I always did. Anyways, he has lots of things on his mid. It's not like he'd get around to figuring out that-ITAI! SAKURA CHAN!" Naruto's yelp followed the sound of a fist connecting. A certain former ANBU winced a little. "What was that for?" the blond complained, no doubt nursing a new large lump on his head, courtesy of Sakura.

"Baka!" hissed Sakura. "Don't even mention it. Especially not on the streets!"

"Hn. Dobe." Sasuke added in his own two cents.

"Teme!" Naruto growled halfheartedly.

Kakashi 'casually' wandered nearer in other to hear the trio's next words.

"So, we're we gonna live?" muttered Naruto. "I really don't want to live in my old apartment. It's trashed up on a daily basis, and nothing actually works, anyways. An I'm sure teme here doesn't want to live in that haunted complex of his."

There was a pause.

"Well...there aren't any other orphans in Konoha Twelve except..." The pink-haired kunoichi trailed off.

_Konoha Twelve? Only nine passed the genin test...unless they're talking about fellow spies,_ concluded Kakashi.

"Well...you could go and live...with Lee..."

Silence.

"No," the Uchiha stated. "Absolutely not. Just...no."

"I agree, dattebayo." Naruto nodded fervently.

"We'll share an apartment together." Both boys spoke simultaneously.

"Um...okay then," conceded Sakura. "I'll even help you decorate! Okay, now...let's go!"

Naruto hesitated. "Go...now? Apartment shopping?" he asked tentatively.

"No, Baka!" Sakura retorted."To Ichiraku's! For ramen!"

The blond genin's head shot up. "Ramen? Ramen! Ramenramenramenramen!" The jinchuurki dashed in the general direction of said ramen stand.

His two genin teamates-and hdden jounin sensei- sweatdropped at the sight.

Sakura sighed as she and her raven-haired teammate trailed after their hyperactive friend.

Kakashi leaned against the nearest wall to ponder the recent developments. Although there actually were distinct similarities, the former ANBU doubted the three were the same people as his genin. He came to a single conclusion.

Spies.

But it seemed that some part of this was not faked at all. These 'spies' were clearly of low level, careless as they were. Yet they seemed to subconsciously operate the same way his genin team did, what with the little byplays and name calling. Also, he had the Hokage's relationship with Naruto to consider. The blond's impersonator couldn't have possibly known about that, could he? It wasn't exactly common knowledge...

Kakashi fingered his kunai, then straightened resolutely. He'd find answers for himself.

* * *

><p>A swirl of leaves later saw a certain masked jounin inside the ramen stand belonging to Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. The stand owner glanced up with surprise, about to call out a greeting, but Kakashi shook his head and held a finger to his lips.<p>

"Stay calm and quiet, please. I need you two to stay out back of the stand until I tell you. There could be dangerous criminals coming in," he murmured into Teuchi's ear.

The old man paled a little, but nodded and hurried Ayame out the back exit.

The last Hatake turned his attention to the small crowd outside Ichiraku's. _It's all of this year's Rookie Nine and Gai's team,_ he identified.

"It seems everything is as it was. The Chuunin Exams should be approaching, and I have no reason to doubt that we will not be entered, sempai."

"What makes you think that, Rabbit?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at Sakura's voice nearby. And was that...Hyuuga Neji's voice also? From Team Gai, his-_shudder_-eturnal rival's team? The ex-ANBU listened silently to the rest of the conversation.

"It just makes sense, Ne-uh, sir." Naruto.

"Nothing else has changed. As long as we keep this up, we should make it in, Falcon-san." Sasuke.

"Very well then. Rabbit, Fox, Raven. You are off duty until I contact you again." The Hyuuga.

"Geez, Neji, it's so hard to talk to you so formally," Naruto complained.

"It's protocol, dobe," Sasuke drawled.

"I know that, teme! Er, Neji? You should go back to your..." Kakashi tuned out, closing his eyes tiredly and thinking hard. _ Damn it. Not impersonators. Obito's cousin and Minato-sensei's son. Double agents. Why? How? Power? Recognition? How did they get this year's nine graduating genin and three of last year's on whoever's side they were now on? Sasuke-power. Definitely. For revenge on his brother. Naruto? With the way the villagers treat him, I wouldn't really blame him. _

_Sakura? No idea. The Izunuka and Aburame, Ino-Shika-Cho? ...nothing. The two Hyuugas? Neji's father Hizashi...that must be why. And Hinata? Perhaps the burden of being the heir, and not being too strong either, apparently._ Kakashi's eyes narrowed. _Lee? Who knew. He was so much like Gai. Perhaps resentment at his underdeveloped chakra coils. And that kunoichi?_ Kakashi shook his head.

Kakashi twirled the kunai absently. But why act like this so suddenly? The jounin took up a ready stance at the approaching footsteps, preparing to confront his students. Mentally, he berated himself for possibly scaring off twelve spies, then concentrated.

The stand's covering was pushed aside.

"WHAA-KAKASHI-SENSEI?" yelped Naruto, as Sakura stifled a scream and Sasuke jumped.

The silver-haired jounin did his best to glare at the rather amusing sight, reminding himself of the gravity of the situation. "So, what was that you were saying to 'Neji' over there?" he growled.

To his surprise, Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Er. Well, Kakashi-sensei...it's sort of hard to explain. Can I, er, ask Neji first."

Kakashi just stared. _What the...?_

Outside, he heard the Hyuuga sigh. "Go ahead, Naruto. It's clear he already figured out. You know you should technically outrank me. Hatake-san definitely does."

Needless to say, none of this was really helping out Kakashi. One. Bit.

"Er, well, uh, Kakashi-sensei...could you, um, lower your kunai please?" he blonde began nervously.

Eleven face faults-all of Konoha Twelve except Naruto.

"Dobe!" hissed Sasuke. "He thinks we're double agents. Of course he'll put away the kunai!"

"And you aren't?" cut in Kakashi coldly.

"Eh, well...we're from Konoha," began Naruto evasively. "And...we're from the future."

Kakashi gave his best deadpan look. "Sure..."

"No, really!" yelped Naruto. "You see, we're Konoha ANBU. Well...most of us are. Jounin, at least. There's this evil organization, and it destroyed Konoha. Their leader wanted to take over the world, and-"

"Let me explain, dobe," interrupted Sasuke. "I'll do it better."

"Teme!" muttered Naruto, but let his friend do the talking.

* * *

><p><em>Konoha was in ruins.<em>

_Eight ANBU in full uniform and wearing their repective masks surveyed the damage, having just returned from their missions. The two squads had returned at the same time to find the same thing-total carnage._

_"Kuso!" The ANBU with the fox mask broke the silence with a curse. "We have to find the victims, if there are any."_

_ANBU "Falcon" took charge. "Fox, Raven, Rabbit. Search for the heads of the Clans, the Godaime Hokage, and Rokudaime-Hokage-in-Training Hatake-san. Deer. You and your squad check the ruins. We may need 'that' jutsu, the one Fox-san prepared in case the Uchiha situation esculated, so I will find Team Ten, consisting of Rock Lee, the Akamichi, and the Yamanaka. _

_"Understood," came the murmurs all around._

* * *

><p>"What do you mean, Rokudaime Hokage-in-Training Hatake-san?" interrupted Kakashi sharply.<p>

"Is it not obvious?" came Hinata's not-so-timid voice from outside. "Hokage-sama Senju Tsunade was training you to be Hokage."

"_Senju Tsunade_ was our Godaime? Slug-hime? The 'Legendary Sucker'? We're doomed," muttered the masked jounin.

"Not so much," Naruto assured him cheerfully. "Anyways..."

* * *

><p><em>"Dead. Every single citizen," came the verdict from Fox. Rabbit and Raven nodded assent mutely. "It was Akatsuki, probably. Madara. Only they could wreck total destruction like this. None of the Hidden Villages had reason to, or actually could for that matter.<em>

_"WHAT THE HELL?" shrieked Tenten behind them. She and her jounin squad leaped up behind Neji. "NEJI-?"_

_"Tenten. You are alive."_

_"ALIVE? WHAT THE HELL?" the kunoichi repeated irately._

_"Team Deer, come in," Neji monotoned into the radio._

_"Don't ignore me!" shrieked Tenten._

_"Akatsuki," Fox answered for his captain. "Don't waste any more chakra. You'll need it for my jutsu to work." Naruto smiled humorlessly behind his mask. "Or we'll all be dead from chakra exhaustion. Not bad options either way, considering the village, ne?"_

_"Naruto-no-baka!" snapped Rabbit. "Don't think like that!"_

_"Hn. Dobe," added Raven._

_"You found them." The relief was evident in Shikamaru's voice. The three ANBU with him darted up behind him.  
><em>

_"Shika! Why do you sound so happy about it?" the irate Yamanaka berated him._

_"If Naruto's justsu works, it would have never happened," came the answer. "Logically, with everything factored in, it should work. Even if it is a once-in-a-lifetime jutsu and all."_

_"Geez, no pressure," Naruto joked nervously. "Alright, Konoha Twelve. Ready?"_

_The twelve ninja moved into a circle, flashing signs in unison. "Tiger, Snake, Tiger, Boar..." Silmultaneously, as they had practiced, the group worked through the dozens of signs together without faltering. "Jiryoko no Jutsu!" all twleve shouted out at once, pressing their hands into the Ram sign and pouring their chakra into the jutsu._

_A bright flash..._

* * *

><p><em>Naruto woke up in his bed, slamming his hand into his alarm clock. Damn annoying...<em>

_He clambered out of bed and dressed in his orange jumpsuit. The blond padded to the kitchen, where he tugged a cup of ramen out of the cupboard and grabbed his kettle to boil the ramen for his breakfast. He had to hurry; he was meeting his genin team at ten._

_Wait._

Genin team.

_"HOLY SHIT! IT WORKED!" yelled Naruto._

* * *

><p><em>Sasuke growled as the light hit his eyes. Not wanting to defy his ninja training and become even weaker than he was, he stumbled out of bed to take a shower. He snagged a set of clothes without looking and headded into the bathroom. His clothes were all the same, anyways.<em>

_Feeling suitably awake after his hot shower, the Uchiha dressed at glanced briefly at the mirror. Hn. Nothing different there, he decided, not feeling the need to wipe the fog from the glass._

_He wandered downstairs. He had to train...why? He had to train...to get stronger...he had to...to kill Itachi._

Wait._ Kill Itachi._

_Sasuke's eyes widened as his memories returned to him. A small smirk graced his stoic face. "Hn. The dobe's jutsu worked after all."_

_On a whim, he stared at the training log in front of him and flipped through several hand signs, gripping his right wrist. "Chidori!" he cried._

* * *

><p><em>"<em>Hey, wait!" interrupted Kakashi suddenly. "Chidori? That's mine!" he whined, somewhat like a small child.

"You taught me it during the Chuunin Exams, when I made it to the finals," Sasuke replied brusquely. "Now quiet. Let me finish."

* * *

><p><em>The Uchiha stared in fascination at the lightning sparking around his right hand. "Wow."<em>

_Without a pause, the raven-haired-now-genin turned and sprinted towards Team Seven's meeting spot. Once there, only a certain orange-clad blond was there.  
><em>

_"Fox. Is that you?" he snapped rather breathlessly._

_"Raven," replied Naruto, grinning. "It WORKED!" he yowled. "Am I a genius, or am I a genius?" he crowed, doing mini victory dance._

_"Dobe," grumbled Sasuke with a smirk. "Where's Sakura? Isn't she usually the first to arrive?"_

* * *

><p><em>Sakura stared at her younger self in the mirror, eying the long pink hair trailing halfway down her back. Her eyes narrowed. She picked up a kunai, ready to slash her hair off, then hesitated. She replaced the blade in her pouch and instead tied it back at the base of her skull, with a tie every four inches or so. With the one minor difference, she replaced her forehead protector as a headband and trotted downstairs, struggling to conceal the huge smile at seeing her family again. "'Kaasan!" she called.<em>

_Five minutes later, a contented and at-peace pink-haired kunoichi strolled leisurely through the village, a cheerful smile on her face. Everything was as she remembered it. She would have a chance to try again. She wouldn't be so weak this time around. She was more mature in body and mind, and she was absolutely determined not to hold her team back...even if her teammates were all exponentially stronger than her. _

_What a depressing thought._

_Good mood gone, the Haruno turned and trudged towards the bridge to meet her team.  
><em>

_"SAKURA-CHAAN!" she heard, jerking her head up. The two boys were standing in front of the grove of trees in front of the red iron bridge. "Naruto? Sasuke-kun?"_

_Both boys stopped and stared._

_"Er...Rabbit?" asked the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki uncertainly._

_"What?" growled Sakura irritably. _

_"It _is_ you, right?" the youngest Uchiha asked suspiciously._

_"Of course!" she snapped, temper flairing viciously._

_"You haven't called teme Sasuke-kun in a while," noted Naruto warily._

_"BAKA!" shrieked Sakura, lunging at him with a chakra-enhanced punch. The boy yelped and sprang away, and the punch hit a nearby tree, bringing it to the ground._

_"Okay. We believe you," intervened Sasuke quickly, grabbing Naruto and dragging him towards the bridge. "Come on. We need to discuss things."_

_Ten minutes later, Kakashi appeared perched on top of the bridge in a swirl of leaves.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"That's enough of your story." Kakashi frowned at the trio inside the ramen stand. "Now prove it." The jounin flinched as Naruto suddenly grinned.<p>

"Hey, hey, we can summon things! Toads! Slugs n' things! Cause, you know, Ero-sennin gave me the contract, and Tsunade-baachan gave Sakura one too! I dunno where Sasuke got his, but it certainly wasn't from that Hebi-teme! Wanna see? It's super cool, but it isn't one of our like kick-ass jutsus! Ero-sennin taught me Rasengan, too! Like Dad's! Dad left me Hirashin no justu too, but I can't do it yet. So, so, wanna see our summons?" babbled Naruto. " Let's go, guys!" The blond bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood, flashing through a series of hand signs. Sakura and Sasuke both mimicked him. "Kuchiose no jutsu!" the trio shouted in unison. Three small poofs of smoke appeared simultaneously.

"Hey, nii-san!" chirped Gamakichi. "Got any candy?"

"Gamakichi-chan!" his summoner complained. "Fine..." Naruto fished out a candy bar and handed it to the toad, scowling good-naturedly.

The Uchiha now had a falcon perched on his wrist. Both regarded Kakashi silently with intelligent eyes.

A small blue and white slug draped itself over Sakura's shoulder.

The six all glanced expectantly at the masked jounin.

The Hatake didin't look so good. He had turned a deathly shade of white and swayed a little, gripping the ramen stand's countertop like a starving man with a hot dog.

"Er...Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto hopefully. "You won't tell the Hokage, right? We kind of can't have interference if we are going after Akatsuki and Madara and all...and if it isn't too much trouble, could you, er, you know...recomend us for the chuunin exams? It's kind of part of our-hey! Kakashi-sensei?"

The influx of information was too much for even the famed Copy-nin, and he fainted. Though he insisted later that it was due to internal bleeding on his last secret S-rank mission that had since healed.

* * *

><p><strong>AU: Again. Sorry about all those page breaks and a slow story so far...next chapter should pick up a bit. And /should/ be longer. But you know life...full of delays...**

**Questions, comments, complaints, suggestions? Review. Please. I've gotton lots of hits, and several Author/Story favorites/alerts. But no reviews. ;-;**

**Anyways. Till later. **

**~Alfa.  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/U: It's Alfa again...no duh... **

**Sorry for taking so long. Had some medical issues that kept me from updating...I was in and out of the hospital the past couple of weeks. So then I had a pile of work that collected and...well... D:**

**This chapter the Sand trio will make their first appearance. What does Gaara know about this whole fiasco? :O**

**...anyways. The beginning of the Chuunin Exams and whatnot...**

**ALSO: A special thanks to everyone who's added Divergence as a favorite (10) or an alert (14).**

**An even bigger one to my three reviewers-BadyGuz, hedwigfan, and psychotic luv...which thrilled me beyond reason. Thanks for all the encouragement! :D **

**psychotic luv: Thanks for pointing out the whole Rookie 9/Konoha 11/12 thing...I kept getting confused with the different combinations and all. xD**

**Anyways, on to the story!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>CHAPTER THREE: Time of Meeting<strong><br>**

* * *

><p>"Brat! That hurt!" the cat-hooded puppeteer leered down at Konohamaru.<p>

"Let me go!" demanded the academy student.

"Oi, oi!" called Naruto, sauntering up in his brand new and not-so-orange clothes. He'd henged into the guise of a brown-haired, gray-eyed genin in order to buy his new clothes without being overcharged or forced to buy the blazing orange, but now retained his blond, blue-eyed appearance. The genin now wore what he called a 'kick-ass, totally ninja' outfit-a padded black vest with a high collar, much like a dark, sleeveless version of Hyuuga Neji's tan shirt, over a half-sleeved gray mesh shirt and loose dark gray shorts with orange racing stripes. His Konoha headband, per usual, was tied around his forehead. "Kankuro of the Sand, ne? Stop messing with the Hokage's grandson 'n playing with dolls, dattebayo!"

Kankuro dropped Konohamaru, and advanced on Naruto. "What was that, punk?" he snarled.

"Kankuro, don't make trouble," warned Temari behind her brother, putting her hands on her hips. "Garaa's-"

"Hey, Gaara!" Naruto waved up at the genin hanging in a nearby tree like a bat.

Said nin opened his black rimmed eyes with surprise. "Naruto?" he asked, then quickly clamped his mouth shut.

Naruto started. He hadn't expected Gaara to know him yet. Or maybe... "Godaime?" he asked hesitantly, his face taking on an annoyed expression. "I _told_ you not to read those scrolls!" he admonished.

Gaara gave a ghost of a grin, shocking his siblings. Temari tried to dispel what she /knew/ was a genjutsu. "Curiosity killed the cat," he quoted. "I know I shouldn't have touched them...ancient scrolls no one knew about." He cocked his head. "Why are _you_ here?" he questioned, giving his fellow Jinchuuriki an intrigued stare.

"Konoha was razed," Sasuke interjected in a flat tone, sitting in the same tree as Gaara. "Naruto used 'that' jutsu."

Gaara's eyes darkened as he stared off behind the genin. "Akatsuki," he muttered. He closed his eyes.

"Madara's Akatsuki," confirmed the Uzumaki.

Sakura jogged up, having been delayed on the way there by an old lady that needed help crossing the street. "It won't happen this time!" she vowed, green eyes flashing in determination.

The Sand Siblings, who had been standing behind their youngest brother, just gaped at them. _Whaa? Ancient scrolls? Razed?_ Temari finally spoke up. "Er...Gaara?" she asked tentatively, flinching a little.

"Not now, Temari-chan, Naruto interrupted absently. "He's trying to find the sane part of Shuka-kun."

"Shuka-you know about Shukaku!" gasped Temari. "How?"

"Naruto-no-baka! Don't spring stuff like that on them!" Sakura thumped Naruto over the head, ignoring his indignant cries. "We met him on a one of his...er... solo missions," Sakura lied. Konohamaru, who'd been hiding behind Naruto, gaped alternately at his idol and the pink-haired girl.

"Hn." Sasuke's face took on its trademark bored expression.

Naruto grinned at the two older genin; Temari stood there looking lost, but Kankuro had long since tuned out the others and focused on sneaking away from Gaara while he was still distracted. On second thought, since Gaara would probably hunt him down for leaving, he just slouched in the shade of the tree under his younger brother.

Sakura jumped as Shukaku's container opened his dark-rimmed eyes suddenly. "I could connect with him, but only just. I will need to see a seal specialist in Konoha. Probably Jiraiya of the Sannin, if you could arrange that, Naruto?" Gaara appeared to be impassive, but Team Seven could hear the strain in his voice.

"Sure, Gaara!" Naruto agreed happily. "I'm sure Ero-sennin will want to help! But we'll should warn him about the Otokagure and-ack! Sasuke-teme!" snapped Naruto, snatching back his now sore hand.

"You should shut up about that kind of stuff, dobe," muttered the Uchiha, tossing another pebble up and down and glaring mistrustfully at Temari and Kankuro. "But I have to agree, Gaara."

The two Sand genin in question didn't bother wondering what they were talking about. They obviously wouldn't understand this..._code_ the other four were talking in.

Gaara disappeared from his branch in a whirl of sand and materialized in the midst of Team Seven. "Temari. Kankuro. You will go back to the hotel and not cause any more trouble." The icy blue eyes narrowed at his quaking siblings.

"Er. Gaara, how about we have Konohamaru show them around, dattebayo?" suggested Naruto. "It'll be like a real ninja mission!" he said loudly, stopping said Academy student's tirade of complaints and objections.

"Yeah! Yeah! Like a real ninja!" crowed Konohamaru, pumping a tiny fist.

"Fine." stated Gaara, turning to walk away.

"Hey! Hey! Gaara! You don't know where to find him!" called Naruto, running after him.

"The man is a pervert," retorted the former/future Kazekage. "Where would _you_ look for him?"

Sasuke smirked, shunshinning behind the two Jinchuuriki. "Hn. Sakura. Let's go."

Said candy-haired kunoichi ran up behind her teammates. "No need to leave me behind! Naruto-baka!"

"Itai! Sakura-chan!"

The four wandered towards the district Naruto remembered the Toad Sage to be...researching...in. "When'd you come back, 'ttebayo?" the blond asked Gaara, uncharacteristically quiet.

Sand swirled a little, responding unconsciously to Gaara's emotions. "The day after Yashamaru tried to kill me," the redhead monotoned in a dull voice. "I tried making amends with the village and the Kazekage," he said, deliberately not calling the man his father "but it wasn't him. He'd already changed-the Hebi-sennin Orochimaru already was influencing him, and he kept me away from others."

Naruto winced. Sakura gasped and even ice cube Sasuke frowned a little. What a day to return to the past. "I'm sorry," Naruto managed lamely. Gaara said nothing.

The redhead stopped in front of a large oak tree near what had been dubbed "Team Seven's Bridge" by the rest of the Konoha 12. He brought two fingers up to his eye, and in a swirl of sand, an eye of sand formed in one clawed hand. _Third eye!_ Gaara clenched his fist, shattering the eye and sending waves of sand flying outwards.

Five minutes of awkward silence later, the Kazekage's third son sighed. He removed his fingers and blinked his eyes back open. "He's by the Ongaku bathhouse," he explained exasperatedly to the other three genin.

Naruto rubbed his hands in glee. "Who wants to kidnap a Sannin?"

* * *

><p>"Heh heh heh...hee hee..." giggled a certain white-haired man pervertedly as he stared distractedly through a hole in the fence...of the ladies' side of the bathhouse. One eye was closed, the other lined up with said hole. Suddenly, he stiffened and turned suspiciously in time to see a claw of sand rear up from the ground and swallow him whole.<p>

"Sand binding prison: success."

It was pitch black within the dome. Jiraiya struggled against the sand practically cementing him, rendering him unable to see, talk, or move any part of his body-it had taken his imprint, then hardened.

"Hey, hey, Gaara!" he heard a young, energetic voice. "Mind letting in some light?"

"Dobe. Wait until he finishes moving this thing. Shunshin'ing a small room made out of sand actually takes a lot of chakra, if you can believe it," came an annoyed voice somewhat sarcastically, more serious than the first.

"Baka! You should know that by now!" a female voice admonished. A sound of a fist connecting to flesh caused the toad sage to wince, despite himself.

"Itai! What was that for?"

The sannin mentally groaned, rolling his eyes. It was bad enough that he'd been caught. Now he learned his captors were most likely novices with teamwork issues.

"We're outside Konoha's walls now." A young, monotoned voice entered the dome.

"Good. Can you open up a hole in the top now? It's kinda dark...and stuffy, dattebayo..." came the first voice, one more cheerful and boisterous than the others.. .

Light hit the self-dubbed 'super pervert' of Konoha as his sandy blindfold fell away and absorbed itself back into the equally sandy floor and a hole opened up in the ceiling. He squinted, and slowly the occupants of the room blurred into view. He blinked again. Standing in front of him were four kids who couldn't be any higher level than genin. He groaned inwardly. Great. He'd never live this down. Three wore Konoha headbands, the fourth had a gourd slung across his back, his Suna insignia tucked on said gourd's strap.

Silence. "Damn, Gaara. That was overkill," spoke the first, the loud one. He had blond hair and was wearing a black ninja vest over mesh. "Did you really have to, er, tie him up like that? He's an ally. He's part of Konoha, for Kami's sake!"

"It was necessary," said the redheaded Suna nin, Gaara. "I did not want him making any hand signs. He is one of the legendary Three Sannin for a reason."

"Dobe. I could have told you that," scoffed the black-haired boy, rolling his dark gray eyes.

"Shut it, Uchiha-teme!" snapped the blond.

"Naruto-no-baka!" shrilled the third, a strangely pink-haired kunoichi. "Don't call Sasuke-kun a teme!"

The blond snorted, then turned back to the bemused Jiraiya with a sheepish grin. "Er...hehe...hi. I'm Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. I'm Yondaime Hokage's son and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki." He jerked a thumb at Gaara. "That's Sabaku no Gaara, son of the Yondaime Kazekage and the container for Shukaku. Sorry about the ah, secrecy and the precautions..."

The white-haired man rolled his eyes expressively.

Gaara raised his hands, directing the sand away from Jiraiya. It poured away and swirled up and into his sand gourd. "A show of faith," he said.

The man stayed still, eyes flicking over the four. "And you're genin?" he asked at last.

Gaara nodded once.

Jiraiya groaned, burying his head in oversized hands. "I'll never live this down!" he moaned. "The Gallant Jiraiya, tricked by mere genin!"

A long pause as the four took in the legend moaning about his shattered pride.

"Look, Ero-sennin," Naruto cut in.

"What's that you called me, gaki?" interrupted Jiraiya indignantly.

"Ero-sennin. You're a toad sage. You're a pervert," deadpanned Gaara.

"I'm no pervert!" retorted said sannin. "I'm..."

"-a super pervert. We know," grumbled Sasuke, crossing his arms and frowning.

The white-haired ninja deflated a little, wind taken out of his sails. "So you needed something from the amazing Jiraiya, who can calm crying babes and seduce women in a matter of minutes? Maybe you need a little girl advice?" He waggled his eyebrows lecherously. "Oh! I know! We can go scout out one at the bathhouses-"

BAM!

Everyone stared at Sakura, who probably would have punched Jiraiya a kilometer away if it weren't for the tree. "You baka!" she screeched at the sannin. "We're not here for perverted reasons! This is serious! Unless you want a Tailed Demon released inside Konoha!"

"Damn," wheezed the self-dubbed super pervert. "She hits like Tsunade," he muttered, then narrowed his eyes at Gaara. "So why would Suna come asking me to fix their Jinchuuriki's seal? Why would they trust me?" he challenged the redhead.

"Suna doesn't," stated the genin flatly. "I trust Naruto, and Naruto trusts you. Both Konohagakure and Sunagakure will be safer if I can fight against my demon-my seal is weak, and I have insomnia. My siblings and I have entered in the Chuunin Exams."

"Yeah, Ero-sennin!" Naruto chimed in. "His seal's really unstable, 'ttebayo! If Shukaku gets loose, Konoha might get razed!"

"What makes you think I'll help you?" snorted the sannin. "I have better things to do in my time."

"Like peep and update your spy network, yeah, we know," interrupted Sasuke. "It's for the good of the viliage.

Jiraiya's attention turned to the younger Uchiha brother. "Sasuke-kun, ne? The Last Uchiha, bent on revenge against his older brother Itachi, the prodigal genius." His eyes carefully scrutinized Sasuke's face.

"No," stated Sasuke stonily. "I'd much rather get at the _honorable_ elders, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Kotaru, and Mitokado Homura for forcing my brother to go through playing executioner for a traitorous family," he said rather bluntly, a mild tang of bitterness in his voice.

Jiraiya reeled back a little, sputtering.

"How about that seal? It's just a little extra protection-won't even take up too much chakra," suggested Naruto cheerily. "As a favor to your godson?"

Jiraiya opened his mouth to protest, then sighed, shoulders slumping. "Alright," he muttered, pulling out ink and a brush.

* * *

><p>"SEAL!" roared Jiraiya, pouring his chakra into the jutsu.<p>

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura watched in sympathy as Gaara screamed and writhed in pain, trails of ink snaking up around the seal on his stomach and wrapping around the initial, poorly made restraint already existing. At last, the toad sage sat back, panting, as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Gaara collapsed next to him, unconcious. Jiraiya surveyed his work in satisfaction.

"I've upgraded your seal-it's almost as good as Naruto's," he informed the unresponsive Jinchuuriki.

Team Seven sweatdropped at the sight.

"I'll be off now!" called JIraiya cheerily. "If I were you, gaki, I wouldn't take him back until he's awake. See ya!"

"Hey-!" Naruto began yelling, but the sannin formed a seal and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Damn Ero-sennin," the jinchuuriki muttered.

"Hn," scoffed Sasuke with a small smirk. "He probably went back to the bathhouses." At which point Sakura began scowling and muttering, simultaneously cracking her knuckles. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged wary glances before subtly edging away.

Several hours later, Naruto bounced up from his perch on the tree, where he'd been idly painting seals onto squares of paper. "Crap!" he yelped. "We were supposed to meet Kakashi-sensei at the bridge at seven!"

The Uchiha muttered darkly under his breath, then slung Gaara's body over his shoulder. "Dobe. Now you remember? It's at least eleven already."

"Shunshin!"

Three swirls of leaves later left the four at the base of the bridge. Sasuke quickly dropped Gaara. "Leave some clones, dobe, let's go. Kakashi may have actually reached the bridge before us."

"Teme!" retorted Naruto, glowering at the pale genin. "Who made you the boss, huh?" Still grumbling the Kyuubi container formed his classic cross seal and produced four clones, who picked up Gaara and hustled him into the trees.

The three sprinted up to the bridge, barely in time to see their sensei shunshin atop a support post for the bridge. The silver-haired jounin blinked lazily down at them and raised a hand in a two-fingered salute. "Morning, people! Today I got lost on the road of life..."

"YEAH, RIGHT!" yelled Sakura, though out of breath. "LIAR! YOU'RE LATE!"

Naruto and Sasuke develped sudden coughs.

The masked nin stared at them strangely, then shoved a hand in his pocket and thrust a set of papers at them. "Here," he said bluntly. "I've nominated the three of you for the Chuunin Selection Exam. Here are your applications. This is just a nomination, blah blah blah, you know, don't you?" he eyed them suspiciously. "Report to room 301 if you want to take the test. That is all." A coil of smoke marked his exit.

Team Seven glanced at each other and smirked.

* * *

><p>"I thought Gaara would never wake up!" complained Naruto.<p>

His male teammate shot him a glare. "Dobe. It was a major sealing. Of course he'd be out for at least a day!"

"Naruto-no-baka!" huffed Sakura.

The trio sauntered through the doors and up several flights of stairs. The kunoichi of the group paused in front of the genjutsu'ed doors. "Should we...?"

"Nah. Thin out the competition a bit," answered Naruto, heading for the next set of stairs.

Sasuke grunted in agreement, and Team Seven resumed their climb.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto now found himself sitting next to not Hinata, but Kankuro, who eyed him with scorn and resentment before turning away. Oh, well. It's not like it would matter-Kankuro'd be off in the bathrooms with his puppet, anyways.

Naruto'd been looking forwards to the chuunin test, surprisingly. Surely, after eight or so years, he'd finally be able to answer some of the questions, right? He was ANBU, after all...he had more experience than any other in this room, except maybe Morino Ibiki. So theoretically, his book smarts must also have increased. The blond genin resolved not to cheat-it'd just be a fun test of his skill, since he actually didn't have to answer any questions at all.

So, after the sadistic jounin overseeing the first test allowed them to begin, Naruto turned immediately to his paper. He read the first question and stared uncomprehendingly at the mass of encrypted kanji.

And stared.

And stared.

"Damnit!" he growled. His mind was drawing a blank. Shrugging mentally, he turned to the second question. _Line B, as seen in the picture, is the greatest possible distance a shinobi..._

Naruto blinked. _Whaa...?_

Seven more questions later, the jinchuuriki was aghast at both his own inability to answer the questions and the fact that of the real genin here, a few actually could._ Ah, crap,_ he thought, then turned back to the first one. Since ANBU learned special cryptograms, this should be the easiest to answer. It turned out to be a very complicated battle plan on how to trap a mouse in the woods.

Yes. A mouse.

Naruto blinked dumbly at the paper, then shrugged and leaned back with a self-satisfied smirk. Until he was struck by the realization that he, a former ANBU, was pleased that he'd been able to answer a single question on a Chuunin exam. ...damnit.

Kankuro stood up and raised his hand beside him. "Excuse me..."

"What is it?" snapped a light-haired proctor.

"Bathroom..."

The false proctor Naruto knew was Kankuro's favorite puppet, Karusu, stood up and fastened a pair of handcuffs around the puppeteer's wrists. "We have to accompany you to the bathroom," it said in clipped tones.

"I see..." the cat-hooded genin muttered as the pair walked out the main doors.

The blond shrugged and idly doodled on his page, drawing random chibi figures of the chuunin examiners around the room. Kotetsu...Izumo...

Finally, fifteen minutes later, the head proctor cleared his throat. "Okay," began Morino Ibiki in a solemn tone. "Now we will now begin the tenth question. Now, before we get to it, I'd like to go over the added rules for this question."

Naruto yawned as the room exploded into chaos. At that moment, Kankuro and his false proctor ambled back into the room.

"Heh...just in time," smirked Ibiki. "Was your...doll playing...beneficial?"

Kankuro visibly jumped. "Just sit down," sighed the scarred proctor before continuing his explanation. "First, for this last question, you must decide whether you will take it or not."

"Choose?" screeched Kankuro's blonde sister a few rows away, causing Naruto to wince. "What happens if we choose not to?"

The torture specialist leveled a heavy glare at the kunoichi. "If you choose not to take the tenth question...you fail! Along with your two teammates," he added.

Naruto rested his head on his arms as the genin around him once again voiced their disapproval. Loudly.

"And now," Ibiki raised his voice above the genins, "the other rule. If you do choose to take it and you answer incorrectly, you will fail and lose the privilege to ever take the Chuunin Selection Exam again."

For a third time, genin around the room leapt to their feet, loudly protesting the rule as the chuunin examiners smirked at them. Ibiki's sinister chuckle soon silenced the room, as well as a healthy dose of killing intent. "You were unlucky...you play by_ my_ rules this year...but I am offering you a way out. If you choose not to take the question, you may fail and take the exams again next time."

Dead silence. Naruto idly flicked his pencil, waiting for the first genin to crack.

"I can't do this!" an older nin from Konoha finally burst out. Naruto stifled a snort as he apologized to his teammates.

"Fail, fail, FAIL!"

More and more teams quit, and Naruto suddenly wondered if he should raise his hand to 'defy Ibiki' this time around._ Nah...less competition will be better...less chances that other teams will run into Orochi-teme..._

"Is that all?" the torture specailist demanded from the front of the room. Silence. "Very well. You all...pass."

Naruto grinned, turning to smirk at Sasuke's superior expression as the other genin-older genin-cried out yet again in shock and confusion.

"What abou the tenth question?" demanded an Ame nin.

Ibiki smiled cheerfully, relaxing but confusing the passed genin. "There was never a such thing. Or you could say those two choices was the tenth question."

"Hey!" cried Temari indignantly from across the room. "What were the first nine questions for, huh? Those were pointless!"

"Nope. They'd already served their intended purpose," the Morino countered. "They were supposed to test your information gathering skills! First, success was dependent on how well each team did as a whole, meaning each of you genin had to make sure not to mess things up for your teammates. However, these questions cannot be easily answered by genin. I'm sure most of you came to the same conclusion: to succeed, you needed to cheat. So we had two chuunin plants who already knew the answers."

A pair of chuunin sniggered to themselves, drawing the attention of the entire room.

"Those who were obvious in their cheating failed. Because some times, information is worth more than your lives." The tokubetsu jounin reached up and removed his bandana hitae-ate, and Naruto winced at the scarred head, riddled with screw marks, burns, and slashes. "And shinobi on the battlefield risk their lives to get it." His mood turned darker, more serious, as he continued. "If the enemy notices you, there will be no guarantee if the information you gain is accurate. I want you to remember that important information can be a powerful weapon-for you, and your village. Therefore, we had you gather information by cheating. Those who did so sloppily or obviously were failed." His cheerful grin returned as he tied his bandana back on."

"I still don't understand the tenth question!" interrupted Gaara's older sister.

Ibiki spread his arms. "The tenth question was the point of the test," he explained. "To take it...or not to take it. Either way may have painful choices. Fail the test and lose the chance to take the chuunin exams...or play it safe and win the resentment of your teammates. Look at it this way: on a mission, you will have important choices to make-choices that could decide the fate of your comrades. So do or do you not take the mission? You don't want to die, and you don't want your teammates getting hurt. So can you choose to not take the mission? No. No matter how dangerous, there are missions you cannot avoid. The ability to be courageous and survive hardship is vital to becoming a chuunin. If you are not willing to put your future on the line and hope that 'there is always next year', you do not deserve to become a chuunin! You are nothing but trash and should just quit as a shinobi!" Ibiki impaled the genin with serious eyes. "But those you who chose the right answer, you will be able to overcome every obstacle in your lives. Congratulations on passing the first test; I wish you luck."

The genin breathed a collective sigh of relief, turning to their comrades and chatting with each other, but Naruto ducked, a suddenly frightly look on his face. Seconds later, a whirl of purple hair, cloth, and kunai shattered through the window. The test-takers sprang back in shock, shouting and adding to the confusion. Two kunai hurtled up to attach what became a banner to the ceiling. _Introducing: Mitarashi Anko! Beautiful and talented proctor for the second exams!_

A young woman in a fishnet bodysuit, miniskirt, tan overcoat, and shin armor sprang from the bundle, purple hair pulled up in a spiky ponytail. She scowled at the genin ferociously.

"Quiet down, you maggots!" ordered the kunoichi. "This is no time to be celebrating!"

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><p><strong>AU: I called this one "Time of Meeting" for lack of a better title...tell me if you think of one... .-.**

**Well...this is it. I've been trying to get progressively longer with each chapter. Let me know if I missed something...I probably did...I will greatly appreciate any/all reviews.**

**~Alfa.**

**UPDATE: I went through this capter again...so many mistakes...DD: Sorry...  
><strong>


	4. Author's Note

Author's Note: Notice of Discontinuation

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><p>Basically, I looked back it this and though, "This is crap." AU characters, obvious things that they did that they shouldn't have...I won't bother listing everything. Not to mention I have a major writer's block on this story. I'll leave this story up, but it's going on a hiatus of sorts, while I try out other little story ideas. Sorry.<p>

Alfa


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